UMass Memorial President Joins MA Health, Hospital Association
The following was submitted to Worcester Patch as a press release
WORCESTER, MA — UMass Memorial Medical Center President Michael L. Gustafson, MD, MBA, was voted onto the Board of Trustees of the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association (MHA) at the annual meeting in January. MHA serves as the leading voice for the commonwealth’s hospitals and health systems.
As an MHA Board member, Gustafson will help advance the healthcare community’s mission to provide high quality, affordable, and equitable care for patients in Massachusetts. He will also chair the association’s Clinical Issues Advisory Council (CIAC), which convenes medical leaders across the state to collectively address their biggest care delivery priorities.
“We are excited to welcome Dr. Gustafson to our Board at a time when strong leadership is more critical than ever for our healthcare system,” MHA President and CEO Steve Walsh said. “He has served as a tremendous advocate for patients throughout his years of service and is a trusted voice among his peers in the state. We look forward to all that he will contribute to our Board as not just the leader of UMass Memorial Medical Center (UMMMC) – but also as an accomplished clinician and authority on quality patient care.”
MHA’s Board of Trustees continues to be at the center of the commonwealth’s response to the COVID-19 crisis, using a collaborative approach to take on the greatest set of challenges the provider community has seen. It also steers the direction of the association’s advocacy efforts on Beacon Hill and Capitol Hill, while carrying forth the state’s longstanding legacy in healthcare innovation.”
In addition, the 2022 Board will oversee the association’s strategy to address diversity, health equity, and inclusion, including the recently announced push to ensure diverse representation on governing boards.
Gustafson was named President of UMass Memorial Medical Center in 2018. Relying on his vast experience in healthcare strategy and operations, Gustafson has guided UMMMC through the daunting COVID-19 pandemic while simultaneously implementing an ambitious plan to establish the medical center as a national leader in clinical quality & safety, patient experience, and caregiver engagement. In establishing the first ever Center for Quality & Safety at UMMMC, Dr. Gustafson and his team have worked to transform the institution’s culture of safety, while drastically reducing patient harm events and improving quality outcomes.
Prior to his role at UMMMC, Gustafson served for seven years as the chief operating officer and president for Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital (BWFH), a fully integrated community teaching hospital in Boston. Gustafson also founded and directed the Brigham Health Center for Clinical Excellence from 2001-11. The Center has been heralded as a national best practice for how to effectively organize and support improvement activities within a large, complex academic center. Gustafson earned an MD degree at West Virginia University and completed his general surgery residency at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, including a three-year, NIH-funded surgical research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. He later went on to become one of the first surgeons to earn an MBA from Harvard Business School. He served on the Massachusetts Hospital Association Board of Trustees from 2015-2020 and chaired the Board’s Clinical Issues Advisory Council from 2015-17.
“I am honored to serve a second term as an MHA board member and as chair of the Clinical Issues Advisory Council. As we continue to navigate the challenges around COVID-19 and a national labor shortage, a record setting number of patients in our state are relying on caregivers to have the expertise and resources they need to deliver high-quality care. Through collaboration and a shared commitment to the communities we serve, the Clinical Issues Advisory Council advises the MHA Board on key emerging opportunities and initiatives to advance patient care and quality throughout Massachusetts.”
This article originally appeared on the Worcester Patch
